Binance co-founder Yi He warned the crypto community on Monday via X that an individual known as "Zhu Pan" had impersonated her in a scam attempt, targeting Tron founder Justin Sun among others. Yi He, who became co-CEO alongside Richard Teng in December 2025, said Zhu Pan previously failed to scam her by impersonating someone else, and later used her identity to try to defraud "Brother Sun." Sun confirmed the account and urged the industry to pursue legal action. Yi He also flagged an account impersonating Binance founder Changpeng Zhao on WeChat and noted the use of AI-generated content to impersonate prominent families from China and Hong Kong, along with major crypto exchanges.
Zhu Pan Thread Links CoinUp to 2018 ZJLT Collapse
Following Yi He's warning, Chinese-language account "Web3老吴" published a thread linking Zhu Pan to derivatives exchange CoinUp. It alleged that Zhu Pan rose to prominence through traffic from the BeeCool platform, orchestrated a fundraising round in 2018 that collapsed after raising significant sums, and later built CoinUp using node-dividend recruitment and high withdrawal taxes, effectively locking up user funds. The thread also claimed a large-scale leak of platform backend data, including real-name verification details. These allegations align with 2018 reports of investor protests at Beijing offices linked to the ZJLT project, where backers sought refunds from a stake holding reported at 50%.
CoinUp Denies Ties, Blames CPX Swings on Selling Pressure
CoinUp issued a four-part statement on Tuesday dismissing the claims. It said Zhu Pan is not a member of its platform and does not participate in core operational management; his role is limited to being the project party for a project listed on the exchange. Linking his personal actions or past experiences to the platform constitutes inaccurate interpretation, the statement noted. On the CPX token's price swings, CoinUp said the decline in the CPX/USDT pair stemmed primarily from concentrated selling pressure and remains under investigation. CPX hit an all-time high above $0.829 last Friday, according to Lookonchain data. The exchange said a security review found no evidence of hacking, breaches, or exploited vulnerabilities, and it reserves the right to pursue legal accountability for malicious rumor-mongering.
The incident adds to a growing list of crypto-related scams, including the largest crypto seizure in U.S. Secret Service history, a jury conviction over investment fraud schemes, and an arrest linked to Southeast Asian scam compounds. Yi He's warning and CoinUp's swift response have amplified scrutiny of impersonation tactics and exchange-linked risks in the sector.